After up and down career, Penn State's Sam Ficken shows poise against Central Florida

Sam Ficken persevered through ups and downs in his career to get the chance to win Saturday's game

Penn State coach James Franklin congratulates kicker Sam Ficken after he hit a last second field goal to put PSU over UCF 26-24 in the Croke Park Classic in Dublin on Saturday, August 30, 2014. Jason Plotkin - Daily Record/Sunday News (Jason Plotkin)

The Penn State sideline celebrates during Saturday's game at Croke Park Stadium on Saturday. The Nittany Lions won, 26-24, on a last second field goal by Sam Ficken, who credited the Dublin wind with helping to push the ball through the posts. (Jason Plotkin — Daily Record/Sunday News)

DUBLIN &GT;&GT; The kicker has endured more scuffling and resurrecting than maybe anyone on this team over the past two years.

Sam Ficken is a senior now and is far removed from the darkest times, that cruel day in Virginia that started sun-splashed but ended with raindrops and four missed field goals to go with a botched extra point. The struggles didn't end immediately, and neither did the most disappointing taunts and threats.

But, in a sense, he's also separated enough from the sweetest redemption, too. He actually ended what appeared to be a disastrous 2012 season by making 10-straight field goals, including the winner in overtime in the finale against Wisconsin.

So there was Ficken, a team leader of sorts now, behind a podium Saturday afternoon in Ireland — never feeling quite like a winner like this.

It was his last-play field goal of 36 yards that sent the Nittany Lions home victorious, 26-24, against Central Florida in the season-opening Croke Park Classic.

It was his first walk-off winner, so to speak. His kick sailed just inside the right upright, touching off a celebration reminiscent of a bowl game or a Big Ten heavyweight showdown.

Afterward, Ficken offered some sobering perspective.

Who would have thought that a famous Dublin wind of 15 to 20 mph might have actually helped?

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"I didn't hit (the ball) real good. I kind of chopped it a little bit," he said. "It kind of went up right at the right pole. I was a little nervous it might clink. The wind pushed it back in. As soon as I saw it go in, I knew it was going to be good.

"I kind of scuffed in the dirt more than I hoped. It went through, and that's all that matters."

And yet his perspective in the postgame interview room went behind that, beyond one play, no matter how significant.

Consider that after making his first five field goals to start last season — running his school-record streak to 15-straight — Ficken was hot and cold the rest of the way. He did make a 54-yarder, the longest kick by a Nittany Lion ever at home.

Then again, he only made 10 of his final 18 kicks overall.

"I think I have a little more poise through the trials and tribulations of my career here. I've been in that situation before. I've succeeded, and I've failed. To grasp that experience and kind of hone it in and just not worry about what's around me and focus on the fundamentals ...

"I didn't have the poise that I have now when I was a sophomore. Those experiences definitely helped me today."

The thing was, it appeared that Ficken might not even get that last-second shot. He was dead-on solid up to that point against the Knights, making each of his previous three attempts, though none was longer than 33 yards.

But near the game's end, it first looked as if Penn State wouldn't need any more offense. It held a six-point lead with 1:47 left and forced UCF into a desperate fourth-and-10 situation from the 43.

The Knights, all timeouts extinguished, were staring at their final offensive play. They responded, stunningly enough, by connecting on a pass play to set up the go-ahead score.

"I was just looking for an opportunity, to be honest," he said. "We had the ball at the 30. That was a lot of distance to cover that quickly. We practiced it multiple times. I knew we could get down there. I was just hoping for the opportunity ..."

"When you're presented an opportunity as a kicker, you have to seize that moment."

And after he did, coach James Franklin met him in the field and picked him off the ground in a celebratory bear hug.

Later, Ficken joked about running away from his own lineman who threatened to bury him in a celebratory pile. He carried the Dan Rooney Trophy presented to the winners.

And he smiled sheepishly after getting tangled and nearly falling over a clump of party confetti shot from high above.

He was OK, though.

"That guy's had as consistent of a spring and summer as anybody on our team. He's been money," Franklin said. "And I'm just happy for him because he's had an interesting career ... is probably the best way to describe it.

"But it's not how you start, it's how you finish. And he's a perfect example in this life, in this program, if you just stay positive and you persevere and you keep working, good things will happen."